Another great festival

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POSTED:October 21, 2010 10:18 a.m.

Well, the rides are all packed up, the smell of cooking seafood and funnel cake has left the air and the dust in the Midway has finally settled. And just as quickly as it seemed to appear, the Great Ogeechee Seafood Festival is over – for now.Unlike the past couple of years, when folks had to either bundle up to brave the unseasonable cold or come in waders to get through the mud, last weekend’s weather probably couldn’t have been more perfect for a festival.Festival officials were calling for attendance numbers to reach as high as 35,000 for this year’s three-day event in J.F. Gregory Park. And by the looks of the crowd on Saturday, they may very well have reached it. The Midway was packed with kids – young and old – standing anxiously in line for their favorite rides, and vendors were busy feeding the masses from inside the pavilion. By the time Little River Band took the stage Saturday night, J.F. Gregory Park had nearly become a place of sensory overload. An event of this magnitude requires more planning than most people can imagine, and our hats go off to the Richmond Hill Chamber of Commerce and the Great Ogeechee Seafood Festival Committee for another job well done. And, believe it or not, planning for next year’s festival has been underway since the start of 2010. So we’d like to also wish festival planners good luck in creating another successful weekend that has continuously proved to be a boon for arts and entertainment, as well as fundraising activities, in Richmond Hill for 2011.And though they are at the forefront, festival planners can’t have all the credit for such a fantastic weekend. None of it could be done without help from the countless volunteers who man the event, as well as the tireless efforts of the Richmond Hill Police Department and other law enforcement and emergency medical services, who make sure everyone is safe and help anyone in need. So while the chamber and festival board is busy getting details in order and bands lined up for next October, everyone else can sit back, relax and look forward to what will surely be another fun-filled seafood fest.